Known as an energy supply system are a gas engine power generator and a gas engine cogeneration system. In recent years, a fuel cell cogeneration system configured to use a fuel cell to supply both electric power and heat is especially attracting attention as the energy supply system.
Already developed is a fuel cell cogeneration system which includes: a means for measuring an electric power load (electric power consumption energy) and a heat load (heat consumption energy by hot-water supply or the like); a demand predictor configured to predict a future demand of the electric power load and a future demand of the heat load from past load histories detected by this measuring device; and an operation planning device configured to generate an operation pattern of the fuel cell cogeneration system based on a future hot-water supply demand predicted by the demand predictor, and this fuel cell cogeneration system operates to maximize a consumed energy reduction amount and a discharged carbon dioxide reduction amount at an object for which the system is provided (see PTL 1 for example). In accordance with the fuel cell cogeneration system of this conventional example, a combination of a start-up time and stop time of the fuel cell cogeneration system is determined such that the consumed energy reduction amount and the discharged carbon dioxide reduction amount are maximized.
The fuel cell cogeneration system starts up at the determined start-up time, operates while sequentially changing the generated electric power of the system in accordance with the electric power load, and stops at the stop time.
Also proposed is a method for operating a fuel cell configured to create an operation plan of the fuel cell based on a service life (see PTL 2 for example).
Also proposed is a method for planning the operation of a cogeneration device configured to predict the load from the past load history and determine an operation time period based on the predicted load (see PTL 3 for example).